On Their Own
by Eminempern
Summary: Skydra and the other weyrlings are stranded in a strange place when they have an accident while between. Original chapters 3 and 4 are now revised to be chapter 2! All other chapters have met their doom.
1. Chapter 1: Two At Once?

**_Disclaimer: I own not Pern nor dragons. I _do_ own my characters, though I've given KiaraAlexisKlay permission to fiddle with them if she so desires._**

**A/Ns: Hello, and welcome (back) to "On Their Own." I'm revising now, going back and making it all smoother and more detailed. This was an early work, so not as _perfect_ as my current stories. (Perfect... riiight.)**

**Anyway, credit for this revised chapter one (it used to be one and two) goes not only to me but to my fabulous beta KiaraAlexisKlay who is responsible for many lines in here - probably the better ones.**

**So, expect more fixing soon, and please reivew to tell me if this is any better than you remember it. If you read it before. If it's new to you, then just review!**

**

* * *

**Ayala hastily pulled her riding jacket on, ignoring the scratchiness. Outside the weyr, Tilabeth was fanning her glittering golden wings, her eyes spinning an excited bright red. The sounds of another queen bellowing filled the Weyr, and Tilabeth called, _Ayala! Hurry!_

_Coming, love!_ Ayala replied. She raced out of her weyr, barely catching her weyrmate K'pal's "G'bye!" and vaulted to her queen's neck with the ease of practice.

As Tilabeth launched herself into the air, instinct telling her to leave Disnath, who was rising to mate, Ayala leaned over the side to peer beyond her dragon's shoulder. She could see the bronzes ringing the feeding grounds, all staring intensely at the glowing Disnath. Ayala's own Tilabeth was looking quite gold, and had been irritable of late. Was she going to rise so soon after Disnath?

But there was no time to think about it right now. The pair winked _between_.

* * *

The next morning, Mitara, golden Disnath's rider, and V'palo, bronze Bynarth's rider, sat sipping their morning _klah_. Mitara couldn't resist beaming proudly at her weyrmate as she relived the more splendid parts of their dragons' flight the day before. 

"A fine flight," V'palo said, grinning back. "If I do say so myself."

"As you always do, O Modest One," Mitara teased. V'palo inclined his head in a mock-bow. Mitara laughed happily.

Suddenly, though, their peaceful happiness was broken. Disnath abruptly disentangled herself from Bynarth, her calm blue-green eyes shot through with agitated streaks of red and orange.

_Tilabeth!_ the dragon cried mentally.

_What about her?_ Mitara asked, choking on her _klah_.

_We must go!_ Disnath said urgently, pulling herself away from Bynarth, who was also getting excited. _Now!_

_Tilabeth's rising to mate!_ Mitara realized.

Indeed, she could already hear the seductive calls of the other queen beginning to reverberate through the Weyr.

_Threadbare and shard it all! _She thought crossly, leaping to her feet. V'palo, understanding what was happening, helped her hastily pull on her riding jacket and head gear. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and then she and Disnath shot out of the weyr.

* * *

Ayala ran a thin, bony hand through her dark hair, biting her lip nervously as she examined the wall of Mitara's weyr. The Weyrwoman, Disnath's rider, was pacing agitatedly, her steps ringing in the echoey cavern. Disnath was sitting upright, her eyes yellow with her rider's feelings. Tilabeth's head was stuck through the entrance to the weyr; her own eyes a sparkly orange. 

Finally, Mitara sat down, sighing. "Well, Ayala?" the slightly older woman asked.

Ayala closed her eyes, then, opening them again, said, "What are we going to do?"

Mitara didn't say anything.

"Tilabeth rose a day after Disnath, so she'll clutch no more than a day after her," Ayala said. "Dragon eggs take more than a month to harden, so they'll both need to be on the Hatching Grounds at once.

"Queens _never_ let other queens _near_ their eggs, though," she went on, biting her lip. "Mitara, they'll tear each other to shreds!"

"Do you think any other Weyrleaders would let us borrow their Hatching Grounds?" Mitara asked, thinking aloud.

"Let's see…" Ayala began. "J'ryin and Kassindai would be open, but Tindyith just laid a clutch, didn't she?"

"Yes, Benden'll have eggs, and so will Tayna and S'balf of Telgar," said Mitara. "And I'm_ not _going to even ask T'massal for help. That old man would never even dream of doing anything so radical as having a different Weyr's queen on his Sands."

"There goes High Reaches," Ayala said. "And I really can't imagine Igen letting us, either."

"_Definitely_ not A'dagl," Mitara said, shuddering. "Do you know what he did when I asked for help back when Ruatha was trying to shortchange us on tithes?"

"Do I want to?" Ayala asked with trepidation.

"No," Mitara snorted, dismissing the Weyrman as incompetent and not worth her time.

"Well… how are we going to get Tilabeth and Disnath to stand each other?" Ayala asked, bringing the subject back to the most pressing matter at hand.

Mitara screwed up her face. "I dunno. How do we stop them from blooding when they rise to mate? Maybe we just have to control them the same way."

"For a month?" Ayala asked getting exhausted just thinking about it.

Mitara sighed. "Good point."

"We're dragonriders," Ayala said desperately. "We're s'posed to know everything."

Mitara shrugged. "Apparently not," the Weyrwoman remarked drolly.

* * *

Mitara woke groggily, rolling out of bed at her queen's insistent prodding. _Whatizzit?_ she asked thickly. 

_Eggs!_ Disnath said urgently.

"Eggs!" Mitara echoed, fully awake now.

"Egggssz?" V'palo said sleepily.

"Eggs, 'Pal!" Mitara said eagerly, leaning over to shake him. "Disnath's ready to lay!"

_Hurry, Mitara! _Disnath said. She was already standing, her eyes whirling in anticipation as she swayed on her feet, her enormous belly weighing her down.

Mitara and V'palo leapt out of bed and quickly made themselves presentable, and they both climbed onto Bynarth. The bronze dragon followed his bloated mate out of the weyr. Once they were in the open, he let out an ear-shattering, proud bugle. The rest of the Weyr's dragons began to rouse, each adding his or her own voice as they did.

Disnath landed with a heavy thud on the Sands, and Bynarth had barely touchedthe ground before Mitara was sliding off his neck. She didn't even wince as the scalding Sands burned through the soles of her shoes when she ran to her dragon, who had crouched in preparation to lay her fourth clutch.

A small but steadily growing crowd of weyrfolk had started to gather, all in varying states of drowsiness. But no one wanted to miss an egg laying.

_Here it comes!_ Mitara thought excitedly as Disnath, flaring her golden wings, reared back.

The creamy-shelled egg slipped onto the sand, sending up a puff of dust as it nestled itself in a depression. Mitara gazed at it in awe, no matter how many she'd seen before in her life. Not a queen egg, but certainly quite large. _It's beautiful, Disnath!_ she said to her lifemate happily.

The queen didn't reply, because she was nudging the egg around, making sure it was exactly right. Then, she quickly righted herself once more, ready to bestow another precious gift to Pern.

* * *

By the time thirty-eight soft-shelled eggs sat on the Sands – one with a golden shell! – and Disnath pushing them around constantly, Ayala and Tilabeth were discreetly perched on a kind bluerider's weyr that overlooked the Hatching Grounds. Ayala was biting her lip. 

'_Beth, what're we going to do?_ Ayala asked. _Mitara seemed worried about it when we talked before, but now she doesn't seem to have a care in the world!_

_Why should she? There are eggs on the sand and more to come, _said the pregnancy-dark Tilabeth, twisting her head around to nuzzle her rider.

_See, silly, that's your problem, _Ayala said, scratching her queen's eye ridge. _You don't understand. The instant you try to get _near_ the Hatching sand, Disnath is going to try to fight you off._

_Why? _Tilabeth asked blankly.

Ayala sighed. _Dragon instinct, I s'pose, darling, _she said. _You'll understand once you've laid your eggs._

Tilabeth rustled her wings, blowing out a puff of air. _I do not have any problem with Disnath, _she said. _Why do you think thoughts of me trying to chase her away?_

_Like I said, love, _Ayala said, her patience stretching. _See, when you have eggs…_

* * *

It was not long before Tilabeth was joyfully announcing to her rider that she was ready to lay her eggs. Ayala swung up onto her dragon's neck, gesturing to K'par, her weyrmate. "C'mon!" she called. "Eggs!" He quickly leaped onto Faronoth. 

Tilabeth seemed to have difficulty pushing off the ground, and grumbled about not getting a high weyr with easy takeoff. But as soon as she was flopping lopsidedly through the air, Ayala's grin felt ready to split her face. This was Tilabeth's first clutch, and she could hardly wait!

That is, she was excited until they approached the Hatching Sands and Disnath reared up, screaming in fury. Behind her, Bynarth leapt to his feet, extending his wings and preparing to fight to protect his mate.

Tilabeth answered with a challenging bellow, fanning her wings to hover awkwardly. K'par's Faronoth swooped below her to land next to Bynarth, growling threateningly to keep the other bronze away from _his_ mate.

When Tilabeth attempted to land and relieve herself of the cumbersome load she was carrying, Disnath launched herself forward, talons out. Tilabeth screeched furiously, and dove under the other queen. Disnath wheeled around as Tilabeth thumped to the ground.

Disnath landed again, and the two queens howled at each other, causing Ayala and the onlookers to clap their hands over their ears. Ayala was frantically begging Tilabeth to not antagonize Disnath, to make peace, or something. "MITARA!" she shouted. "DO SOMETHING!"

But Mitara's face was already screwed up with concentration. She raced to her dragon's side, calling out. The air was filled with the sounds of two furious queens and their bronze protectors, and two queenriders desperately grasping the link between their dragon halves to calm down.

Tense moments dragged on before both dragon queens froze and then blessedly fell silent. Two golden tails thumped and puffed the sands, soft hisses resounding through the Grounds, eyes whirling as they locked on each other. One set of wings hovered protectingly over cream and mottled eggs while the other set flared outward and rocked in an effort to keep the first of the inevitable eggs from slipping out until the danger was past. Their riders kept their eyes shut tight, mentally begging their dragons to stop this, and the whole Weyr held its breath.

Abruptly, both dragon relaxed and turned away, completely ignoring each other. Disnath went to flip her golden egg around, giving and elegant and arrogant snort, wings snapping to lie back against her sides and giving her tail a disdainful flick. Tilabeth crouched to lay her first egg.

* * *

**A/Ns: There you have it! I know I jumped around a lot - lot of short little scenes - but that was kind of necessary, as I didn't want to drag it out interminably. Besides, this isn't even the main plot! Anyway, that's it until next time. G'bye!**


	2. Chapter 2: Search

**A/Ns: Well, here is the revised chapter two. It's a combination of what used to be chapters three and four. Hopefully it's better this time.**

**And I'd like to ask that everyone NOT read the later chapters. I'll probably be taking them down. Really. I was reading over them earlier today, and they are APPALLING. They desperately need a re-write. Hm, I'm definitely going to take them down when I get a chance.**

**But other than all of that, enjoy this revised chapter. It's longer than the original… Review, please!**

* * *

The bluerider bowed. "I'm T'firno, my lord," he said respectfully. 

"Welcome, rider," replied the Lord Holder in his usual, toneless voice. Skydra watched the exchange silently from behind her father, her face blank as always. If there was one thing that you could say Skydra _wasn't_, that would be outgoing.

"My dragon, Tyrnarth, and I are here on Search," T'firno said. If he was unnerved by the Lord Cardonlo, he didn't show it. "Normally, our entire Wing would have come, but there were complications, so I'm afraid we're it."

"Very well," replied the Lord in clipped tones. "Have some lunch before you Search though, rider."

Why wouldn't he use T'firno's name? And anyone who knew Cardonlo could tell that he wasn't being friendly, he was being respectful because of the _power_ dragonriders had. Even if it was just a blue.

"No." T'firno was surprisingly firm. "Tyrnarth and I have to get the candidates and go, if you please."

"Very well. What do you need them to do?"

A rather odd expression fell across T'firno's face for a moment, but disappeared so quickly that Skydra might have imagined it. "If you would line up all the children between ages twelve and nineteen in the courtyard, please," he said.

It was quickly done.

Skydra was sent to fetch all the children, of course. The fact that she was the Lord Holder's daughter hardly meant less work - to the contrary.

She soon stood in the line, beside her closest - only - friend, Tysla. It evaded many as to how such an extrovert as Tysla could be so friendly with the introverted Skydra.

Skydra hardly spoke to anyone but Tysla, and shied away from all physical contact. No one knew why. She'd never tell.

How could they know that skin-on-skin contact brought back memories that burned? How could they know that in the Lord Holder's quarters, words were detested? How could they know what Skydra had suffered at the hands of her father?

They couldn't.

And they wouldn't.

Tysla, seeing her best friend tight-lipped and pale, slung an affectionate arm around Skydra's shoulders.

"Nervous?"

Skydra shook her head almost imperceptibly. Tysla wasn't falling for it.

"Yeah right. Really."

"Maybe a little." Skydra never wasted the words she said. If she was going to say anything at all, she wasn't going to be lengthy about it.

"Why?"

"Because." Skydra watched as Tyrnarth lowered his head to the first boy in the line. "This is the chance to be a _dragonrider_."

She didn't need to say more. The two girls had long dreamt of riding a-neck beautiful golden (or green, green would work) dragons, of traversing the skies and even the whole planet. This was a chance to die for.

"And," murmured Tysla softly, making sure no one else could hear, "if you get Searched, you get to leave."

She'd found the heart of it. Skydra nodded noiselessly.

"And if you Impress… well, that'll show him!"

A slow, brilliant smile crept across Skydra's lips, mostly against her will.

She usually tried not to smile. Somehow, it just always felt out of place on her thin, pink lips. But a smile _never_ looked out of place on Tysla's face, in her sparkling brown eyes. Not in the way it made her tilt her head, sending messy brown curls falling all over as her whole face lit up in the smile. No, Skydra's deadened blue eyes, pale complexion, and pulled-back blonde hair just seemed to defy any smile to venture near.

But if she Impressed…

Perhaps all that could change.

Perhaps she _could_ show HIM.

She wouldn't need a gold - no, a green would do fine.

Yes.

Yes, she liked that idea a lot.

It was the first time in a long time that she'd liked something so much.

And she liked that, too.

* * *

T'firno gently smiled at the lad, whose face crumpled in disappointment as Tyrnarth swung his blue head away, looking on eagerly to the next in line. Shards, how T'firno hated the looks on the faces of the rejected. But that wasn't nearly as bad as seeing candidates who didn't _Impress_. After a Hatching, he always hurried to greet the newly Impressed, instead of hanging around to see the disappointed. 

_Well, O Master Searcher?_ he asked Tyrnarth playfully.

_No._ Tyrnarth turned away again, and T'firno forced another sympathetic smile onto his face.

_Well, hurry up and pick some. I hate seeing them find out they're not gonna work._

_Do not rush me,_ replied the dragon delicately.

The next young adult to sniff was a lively-looking girl, of about sixteen, with bouncy brown hair and keen brown eyes. She looked up at Tyrnarth with an awed expression, and Tyrnarth sniffed her.

He spread his wings slightly, exhaling with a _whuff!_ and said, _She is good._

_Really?_

_Of course!_

A wide grin split T'firno's face. "Well, then. What's your name?"

The girl's mouth dropped open into an _'o'_ shape. "Am I Searched?" she breathed.

"Yup." T'firno leaned lazily against Tyrnarth as the girl beamed with joy.

"Then I'm Tysla!" she exclaimed.

"Ah, you wouldn't have been if you _hadn't_ been Searched?" he asked, arching an eyebrow with a small smile.

"Of course not."

"Well, you'd better go pack your bags now," said T'firno, as Tysla ecstatically hugged the blonde girl beside her. "We'll be leaving as soon as we finish our Searching."

"Actually, sir," said Tysla politely, "I'd like to wait and see whether my friend gets Searched."

He shrugged, looking at the blonde, blue-eyed girl, who stood, watching him blankly. His heart sank a little - she didn't look too promising. But what could he say? "Sure." _Tyrnarth, if you would._

_Of course._

The blonde girl was shy, her posture rather inward, shrinking away from them. T'firno suspected it wasn't from fear of Tyrnarth, but of a deeply bred instinct to melt into the surroundings. She tensed when Tyrnarth touched his muzzle to her shoulder.

To T'firno's utmost surprise, Tyrnarth said calmly, _She comes with us._

_What? _yelped the bluerider. _Look at her! She doesn't even have the nerve to look me in the eye! There's something strange about her, Tyr. Something's not right._

_She comes,_ Tyrnarth repeated.

_Look at her! What kind of rider will she make if no one can _behold_ her?_ demanded T'firno.

_I _know_ what I'm doing,_ said Tyrnarth stiffly, annoyed.

"Congratulations," said T'firno, giving in and speaking to the girl, doing his best to smile. "Tyrnarth likes you."

"_Me_?" gasped the girl, her eyes widening in shock and delight.

"What's your name?" asked T'firno politely, as Tysla gave a happy squeak, grabbing her friend's arm.

"Skydra, she's Skydra!" cried the brunette.

"Well, you two had better pack now," said T'firno.

"Yes, my lord," said Skydra, dipping her head respectfully. T'firno caught her chin in the bow.

If he had thought she tensed at Tyrnarth's touch, it was nothing compared to what she did now. She went completely rigid, her eyes and body frozen as she felt his touch. All of a sudden, the living, breathing girl had turned into a sculpted carving of stone.

_Let go of her!_ Tyrnarth cried furiously. T'firno did so immediately.

"I-I'm not a lord," he stammered, taking a step back. This girl was supposed to Impress?

_Tyrnarth, you _can't_ be serious!

* * *

_

The two girls heaved their stuff into bags. Tysla was full of energy, bounding around, while Skydra quaked silently in her delight.

"Isn't this _wonderful_, Sky?" sighed Tysla rapturously.

"It is," agreed Skydra softly.

"Think you'll Impress?"

"I hope so." Skydra looked up at blue Tyrnarth on the heights. Would she soon ride a dragon like him?

Soon, they were bringing their baggage outside. Only five others from their hold had been Searched, all lads.

Another two dragons had landed in the courtyard, a green and a brown. T'firno came forward, grinning at the new candidates. "Wow, you travel light," he said. Indeed, they did. "But we're still gonna need some extra help. That's why we have these - P'lim, green Kelzinth's rider, and Z'ral, brown Tragomth's rider."

Soon, all the bags were on the dragons, and Tysla, Skydra, and P'lim approached Kelzinth. The two girls awkwardly mounted the green, with much help from P'lim. Skydra shied away from his touch, but he didn't comment, and assisted her with minimal contact. She had to get up on the dragon somehow.

As Skydra looked out across at the Hold from upon the dragon's neck, she realized she hadn't even said goodbye to her father. But she didn't regret it.

P'lim swung up with the ease of practice, twisting around to grin at his passengers. "Hello there, candidates. We're ready to go now. You, girl, feel free to hold onto my riding belt - that's what it's so wide for - and behind her, you can hold onto her. Kelzinth's amazing in the air, but I can't guarantee a smooth takeoff. Then we'll be going _between_, and it's deathly cold, but don't worry. It doesn't last more than about three seconds. Any questions?"

They shook their heads.

"All right then. Let's go!" He snapped on his goggles, and Tysla took hold of his belt. Skydra awkwardly placed her hands on her friend's shoulders, and Tysla twisted around to grin reassuringly.

With that, Kelzinth snapped into the air, sending Tysla and Skydra lurching backwards, but the green easily evened out, hovering next to Tyrnarth and Tragomath. It caused a swooping sensation in Skydra's stomach. It was delightful, and the first unguarded smile split her face for – how long _had_ it been?

Then, without warning, they were _between_.

But the feeling of being cut off, cold, sensing nothing, didn't unnerve Skydra. She blinked, the impotent ice filling her bones.

Then, they were out, the dragons happily bugling their arrival. Kelzinth swooped down, and Skydra looked around at the Weyr, her new home, with wide eyes.

But then suddenly, she reeled as a high-pitched screech filled the Weyr.

Something had hit her mind like a rock, and a wave of pain, of terrible, rending, all-consuming _agony_ exploded inside of her.

There was emptiness, a horrible, gaping _emptiness_, wanting, needing that sent tremors through Skydra. But there was an option… there was always the option… The option of the welcoming darkness, of the desperately sought oblivion…

_No!_ Skydra instinctively rebelled. They were going to die! _No! It's all right! It all fine in the end!_ She was babbling. _Where are you going? No! NO! Come back!_ Then, the real truth: _I know how you feel!_

Suddenly, the other presence paused, the pain not abating, but there was a reply. _NO! NO! I have to leave! I can't stay! Not NOW! Not now that she is GONE!_

_Who is gone?_ Skydra demanded, surprised. _You will be fine. You have to stay! Don't go! I won't let you!_

_Sorry, _whispered the other, and blinked out of existence.


End file.
